


Gadget

by raskin



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Asshole!John, Gen, Hurt No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1203337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raskin/pseuds/raskin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John didn't see his newly-assigned partner as anything near human.  He did seem to think that Dorian had his uses, though.</p>
<p>Heavy on the angst.  Bearable only because we know this is early in John's development.</p>
<p>“Just because you don’t eat, doesn’t mean you can’t cook.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, see, I <i>don’t</i> eat.  And therefore, I don’t waste precious space in my internal storage banks on that particular skill.  I have specs for using a knife as a weapon, not as a chef’s tool.”  He shook his head.  “I can’t believe you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gadget

John stood in the kitchen, waiting expectantly. In front of him on the stainless steel counter was everything needed for a batch of nachos deluxe. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avocado, black olives, cilantro, limes. Sour cream and salsa. Meat ready to brown. Tortillas to be crisped. 

A real retro treat. For an Organic, that is. For a DRN? Not so much.

“You invited me over for _this?”_

“Yeah, I brought you here to…” John waved a hand over the display. “To make it happen. I bet you can have all this sliced and diced in the time it would take me to peel a single onion.”

Dorian knew that his partner could be an asshole, but this was too much. It was clear John did not even intend to help. He wasn't using this kitchen project as a way for them to bond. “What the hell makes you think that I would know how to cook?”

“Just because you don’t eat, doesn’t mean you can’t cook.”

“Yeah, see, I _don’t_ eat. And therefore, I don’t waste precious space in my internal storage banks on that particular skill. I have specs for using a knife as a weapon, not as a chef’s tool.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you.”

John grinned, the way he always did when trying to be charming. “Well, can’t you just, you know, like download what you need to –” 

“I’m your partner, John, for the purpose of protecting you. Not _serving_ you.”

“You’re good at everything you do, Dorian. This should be easy. Come on, chop, chop.” John barked out a laugh. “Now that’s funny right there. ‘Chop, chop.’ Get it?”

“Oh, I get it all right.” Dorian sensed his jaw clenching and his eyes narrowing. Telling responses to what he was feeling right now. Although he didn’t trust John to even notice. “After all the times I’ve saved your ass, helped you out, backed your play, this is what you think of me. Nice...”

“Geez, don’t be so sensitive. I thought you’d like to do something different. You're always wantin' to get away from the lab...” John was starting to look a little abashed, but he didn’t give up. “So, what do you say?”

“I don’t think you want me to have a sharp object in my hand right now.” Dorian started for the door. “I’m outa here. Don’t worry, I can make my own way back.”

“Wait. You can’t just go wandering around out there unsupervised… Can’t you just take it easy and—”

Dorian turned slowly -- _very_ slowly -- back towards his partner. He set his facial expression halfway between ‘ominous’ and ‘threatening.’ "Thank you, John, for pointing out that I do not have the right to walk the streets without a keeper."

John gulped noticeably. He finally seemed to be getting the message. “Yeah, uhm, OK. I’ll run you back to the station.” He didn’t take the time to put the food away before he grabbed his keys and headed out to the car.

On the trip back, Dorian kept his eyes trained out the passenger window, and thought about what had just happened. He wished he could force his ‘mind’ onto anything else but. Unfortunately, this conscious review of events was part of his design, part of what made him so much like an Organic.

He'd thought that he and John were becoming more than just Cop-And-Supporting-Synthetic. He’d come to believe that John was beginning to see him as a true partner. He’d even allowed himself to hope that they were on their way to becoming friends. When John asked him to hang out here at his place tonight, he’d taken it as a sign that it was happening. 

The frustration was real. The disappointment was acute. And damn but the humiliation hurt. He would give anything to be able to just override these feelings.

Sometimes he wished he weren’t _quite_ so human.


End file.
